Texas Gov. Rick Perry comin' for Illinois jobs

Texas Gov. Rick Perry launched an aggressive media campaign this week aimed at poaching Illinois employers, rolling out radio and print ads ahead of a two-day recruiting trip to Chicago next week.

"I have a word of advice for employers frustrated by Illinois' short-sighted approach to business: You need to get out while there's still time," he states on radio ads running on WBBM, WGN, WIND and WLS this week.

The Republican governor urges employers to visit TexasWideOpenforBusiness.com and signs off by saying, "it may be time for your company to hit the emergency exit."

TexasOne, a public-private partnership that markets the state as a business destination, paid for the $42,000 radio ad buy, which is paired with a $38,450 media buy with Crain's Chicago Business.

Perry will travel to Chicago on Monday for a two-day visit. While here, he plans to meet with business leaders in the biotechnology and financial industries, and to speak at the 2013 BIO International Convention at McCormick Place.

In an open letter to businesses, laid out in a full-page ad, Perry asserts Texas has a number of advantages over Illinois, including no personal state income tax, a larger workforce, lower unemployment, a lower rate of union membership and a less expensive worker's compensation program.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's office said Perry's overtures amounted to nothing more than a publicity stunt similar to campaigns by other Republican governors, including those in New Jersey, Indiana and Wisconsin.

"He's a big talker - I think people saw that in the presidential campaign," Quinn said Wednesday morning in response to a question at a press briefing. "Companies are coming to Illinois because of ... our highly skilled, educated workforce, because of our excellent transportation and because of a government that works with companies.

"We know how to do it in Illinois - we don't need advice from Gov. Perry," he said. "His state, frankly, is water-challenged, and any company thinking of going to Texas better check on their water."